Chinese Cultural Items exhibited in the Carlyle Campbell Library

The Right Case at Entrance

1.Traditional Chinese Painting (国画guó huà)

Lotus 荷花 by Zhang Daqian张大千

Zhang Daqian (張大千, 1899-1983AD), original name Zhang Yuan (張爰) and pseudonym Daqian, was one of the best-known and most prodigious Chinese artists of the twentieth century. Originally known as a guohua (traditionalist) painter, by the 1960s he was also renowned as a modern impressionist and expressionist painter.

He excelled at all types of paintings, and is especially famous for his landscape, as well as lotus paintings.

2.Chinese Calligraphy (书法shū fǎ)

Quiet Night Thoughts静夜思 Poem written by Li Bai李白
Tang dynasty is considered as the golden age of Chinese poetry, while Li Bai (李白, 701-762AD) is the poet of poets. He is recognized as the most outstanding one among Chinese romantic poets. In this poem he is lamenting that he misses his country.

Calligraphy written by Mei Lin 梅林from Beijing, China中国 北京

3. Chinese Embroidery (刺绣 cì xiù)
Embroidery, a folk art with a long tradition, has an important position in the history of Chinese arts and crafts. In its long development embroidery has been inseparable from silkworm raising and silk reeling and weaving.

Today, silk embroidery is practiced nearly all over China. The Four Famous Embroideries of China refer to the Xiang embroidery in central China’s Hunan Province, Shu embroidery in western China’s Sichuan Province, Yue embroidery in southern China’s Guangdong Province and Su embroidery in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province.

The Left Case at Entrance

1.Traditional Chinese Painting (国画guó huà )

Tea Tasting 品茶图 by Wen Zhengming文徵明

Wen Zhengming (文徵明, 1470–1559 AD), born Wen Bi, was a leading Ming dynasty painter, calligrapher, poet, and scholar. He was regarded as one of the Four Masters of Ming painting.

Wen often chose painting subjects of great simplicity, like a single tree or rock. His work often brings about a feeling of strength through isolation, which often reflected his discontent with official life. Many of his works also celebrate the contexts of elite social life for which they were created.

Tea tasting has cultural meaning. Tea and tea wares should match surrounding elements such as breeze, bright moon, pines, bamboo, plums and snow. All these show the ultimate goal of Chinese culture: the harmonious unity of human beings with nature.

2.Chinese knotting (中國結Zhōngguó jié): Winding the Best Wishes with Cord

Chinese Knotting is a decorative handicraft art that began as a form of Chinese folk art in the Tang and Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD) in China. It was later popularized in the Ming. The art is also referred to as “Chinese traditional decorative knots”.

Chinese knots, an embodiment of the craftwork and wisdom of ancient Chinese civilization, are made by winding red cord to express blessings. It is metaphorically used to refer to man’s multiplication. Characterized with complicated and varied curves, it can be restored to the simplest line. Originating from a basic tool of primitive society, it is full of graceful appeal. Nowadays people express their blessings in modern ways, sending their regards through phone calls or emails or presenting flowers as gifts. The handmade art of Chinese knots add tea’s aroma to the “coffee life” of modern people.

Art handcraft…best wishes for your family and your friends, you give the blessing to them, you hope they are happy / fortune / as you wish and happiness and fortune

3. Four Treasures of the Study (文房四宝 wén fáng sì bǎo)

The four treasures of the study, is a general name of the main traditional writing tools of Chinese calligraphy, i.e. writing brush, ink stick, ink stone, and paper. The use of brush dates back to 4000-5000 years ago in China; ink came into being 3000 years ago; the paper was invented in the Eastern Han Dynasty; and the ink stone was invented in the Spring and Autumn Period.

Apart from brushes, ink sticks, paper and ink stone, ancient calligraphy tools also included accessories, such as penholders, brush pots, ink boxes, paperweights, seals and seal boxes. The raw materials of such tools was pottery, porcelain, copper, iron, lacquer, wood, bamboo, stone, jade, jadeite, agate and coral.

Practicing calligraphy cultivates the mind as you have to concentrate while you are creating the brushstrokes. It has traditionally been regarded as the highest form of visual art in China, even higher than painting.

4. Iron Balls (铁球tiě qiú or健身球jiàn shēn qiú)

In China, balls made of wood, stone and walnuts were used for finger exercises way back in ancient times. Later, rich and powerful aristocrats began to use glass and jade balls, which gradually evolved into solid iron balls. These finger-held balls of different materials became the early forms of Chinese health balls.

Iron balls played a vital role in the development of the iron ball culture, which has a long history in China. So, the “health ball exercise” is commonly called “iron ball exercise”.

The iron ball first appeared in the Song Dynasty. Originally, it was a solid ball otherwise known as “iron egg”, which was a kind of weapon used for both exercise and self defense. According to historical data, the solid ball was changed to a hollow one during Emperor Jiaqing’s reign of the Ming Dynasty. The ball caught on in Qianlong Period of the Qing Dynasty. The ball’s function of dredging channels and boosting vital energy and blood through the stimulation of the acupoints in the hand was gradually recognized.

The Third Case in the Library

1.Chopsticks (筷子kuài zi)

As the origin of chopsticks, China is the first country in the world to use chopsticks and has a history of at least 3,000 years to have meals with chopsticks. Chopsticks seems quite simple with only two small and thin sticks, but it is in possession of many functions, such as picking, moving, nipping, mixing and digging; moreover, it is convenient for use and cheap in price. Besides, chopsticks are also unique tableware in the world. Anyone using chopsticks, no matter Chinese or foreigners, would without exception admire the inventor of chopsticks.

After experiencing numerous hardships and tests and upon baptism of the time, the chopsticks give off more lingering taste, and have gradually evolved to be an existing form with a combination of pragmatism and culture. Today, chopsticks are not only one kind of tableware, but also become a unique culture form, representing a kind of civilization, coming in front of us as a work of art for research, use, appreciation, collection and presenting as a gift.

2.Tibetan Handheld Prayer Wheels  (转经轮 zhuǎn jīng lún  or  祈祷轮  qí dǎo lún)

Tibetan prayer wheels (called Mani wheels by the Tibetans) are devices for spreading spiritual blessings and well being. Rolls of thin paper, imprinted with many, many copies of the mantra (prayer) Om Mani Padme Hum, printed in an ancient Indian script or in Tibetan script, are wound around an axle in a protective container, and spun around and around. Typically, larger decorative versions of the syllables of the mantra are also carved on the outside cover of the wheel.

Tibetan Buddhists believe that saying this mantra, out loud or silently to oneself, invokes the powerful benevolent attention and blessings of Chenrezig, the embodiment of compassion.

3. Chinese Table Runner with Chinese Fortune Symbols (福  Fú)

The Chinese table runner shows the character 福Fú written in different ways.

The character  福meaning “fortune” or “good luck” is represented both as a Chinese ideograph, but also at times pictorially, in one of its homophonous forms, most popularly as a bat, but also sometimes as the cereal bran. It is also often found on a figurine of the male god of the same name, one of the trio of “star gods” (福，录，寿Fú, Lù, Shòu).

4. Chinese Embroidery (刺绣 cì xiù)
Embroidery, a folk art with a long tradition, has an important position in the history of Chinese arts and crafts. In its long development embroidery has been inseparable from silkworm raising and silk reeling and weaving.

Today, silk embroidery is practiced nearly all over China. The Four Famous Embroideries of China refer to the Xiang embroidery in central China’s Hunan Province, Shu embroidery in western China’s Sichuan Province, Yue embroidery in southern China’s Guangdong Province and Su embroidery in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province.

5. Treasures from the Working of Nature: Eight Thousand Years of Antiquities (天工宝物：八千年历史长河Tiān gōng bǎo wù:  Bā qiān nián lìshǐ cháng hé)

This catalogue includes some of the finest works of antiquities in the NPM (National Palace Museum, Taipei) collection. All gathered together, they range from the Neolithic Age; Shang and Zhou Dynasties; Qin and Han Dynasties ; Six Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties; Song and Yuan Dynasties; Early Ming Dynasty Official Wares Late Ming Dynasty; Early to Middle Qing Dynasty ; to the Late Qing Dynasty , spanning eight thousand years of Chinese art and culture in the NPM collection.

Published by National Palace Museum, Taipei. Collection Size: 696,373 (as of December 2015)

References: (for all of the Chinese cultural items in three cases)
Liang, Z. (2001). A Brief Introduction of Chinese History & Culture. Beijing, China: New World Press.
Clayre, A. (1984). The Heart of the Dragon. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
http://www.cultural-china.com/
http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh96/eight_thousand/index1_ch.html